Observer
by ricesplash
Summary: A player, a flirt; he would do anything to capture the heart of a beautiful lady. But what you see on the outside isn't always the same as the inside. Truly, what kind of man was he? Sanji/OC (First Person). AU. Rated T because I swear.


Pairing: Sanji/Reader

Type: One-Shot AU

Rating: T-13+

Notes: Written in First person (Reader perspective). I also wrote this before the time-skip; Sanji _may_ appear OoC.

Summary: A player, a flirt; he would do anything to capture the heart of a beautiful lady. But what you see on the outside isn't always the same as the inside. Truly, what kind of man was he?

* * *

A flirt, a playboy, whatever you want to call him; he was just that.

As soon as a beautiful lady walked past, he would be head over heels for her, swooning her with his pickup lines and dropping more compliments than you could count. He'd treat her like a princess before his eyes; acting like a servant and not allowing anyone else to lay a single fingernail on her delicate skin.

It didn't matter how much of a gentleman he was, they would be far too creeped out by the time he finished introducing himself. I still debate with myself whether it's the asymmetric curl on his eyebrow or just the plain creepiness that radiates off him -he calls it his 'love aura'- that scares them off.

Although sometimes, there is a small handful of ladies who do end up hanging around him, but they always end up using him for their own wants. His loyalty gets trampled on and he's always alone once again a few days later. I try to tell myself 'that's what he deserves for being a player', but the pain that he tries to hide on his face always makes me think otherwise.

On the other hand, even though he has been flat out rejected, he never gives up and starts worshipping them in whatever they do. That always brings me back to my first judgement.

I sat at the bar and replayed those thoughts again. I absolutely despise guys like him, but I always find myself coming back to this same bar every night. I asked the bartender for a cola, the usual -I don't drink-, and wait patiently while studying the strange blonde. This night, he spoke to a group of three gorgeous girls whilst cleaning glasses.

He laughed and told them interesting stories about himself that in no way possible could be true. The girls giggled amongst themselves and asked for a drink. As usual, he would let them have it without expecting a single Beli in return. After a few moments, they smiled without exchanging any other words and left, just like that.

He collected the empty glasses and turned around, sighing. The bartender finally came around and handed me my drink. The blonde paused and turned to me.

"Ah, it's you again. You come here quite often." He smiled in the exact same way as he did to the other girls. _How disappointing. He should know by now that I'm not like them._

I nodded in response, sipping the straw.

"Did you know I'm a pirate?" I raised an eyebrow. "I'm here to steal your finest treasure, your heart." He winked.

I snorted. "How many times have you used that one?" He looked taken back. He cleared his throat and excused himself, gesturing towards the glasses that had yet to be cleaned. He knew that I've been around long enough to see who he was; a player needy of attention. Or was he just a horny bastard?

I took another sip of Cola. He was interesting. Sure, it sounds like he's just a player; I should stay away from him to avoid any trouble. But there's just something about him that I can't point out. Something that keeps dragging me back here, even though there's nothing unusual or special about this place.

He returns with a straight face and walks back to his spot without bothering me again. The guy seems laid back, carefree, but the look on his face is always troubled. He always has a great cover-up in front of customers, but I was lucky enough to see while they didn't.

I wanted to knock some sense into him. This stranger was wasting his time approaching women in a way that did the opposite of what he wanted. Surely, he must know that his way wasn't the way to get a real girlfriend. Maybe he _was_ just a horny, little shit and I was just thinking too hard.

Time ticked by quickly, and I had only begun to notice how late it was getting when I heard the bar quieten down as people began to leave. Empty seats were left pulled out of the wooden tables that were stained with the scent of alcohol. Beer jugs were stacked messily in one another, creating the feel of a celebration coming to its end. A few of the staff came out to clean any major spills and neaten up the place. The blonde had finished cleaning up and organising the belongings at the front.

"Oi, player. Blondie. Flirt. Oi!" I called him names until I caught his attention. He responded when I called him "curly shit", just in case you were wondering. He came over with a confused look and continued drying gigantic mugs with a tea towel.

"What is it?"

I eyed him closely. He seemed out of the flirty mood, which was good. It seemed like a perfect time to gather honest answers from him, so I can leave this place with all my curious questions solved. "Have you ever been in a real relationship?"

His eyebrow creased and he pulled out a cigarette out of his pocket, lighting it quickly for a smoke. "What's it to you?"

I kept eye contact with him. "I don't know if I'm just thinking too hard about this situation, but... Are you lonely?"

He broke off the eye contact. "Tch. If you're not here to order, then get out of my bar!" He turned his back to me and continued cleaning the appliances. "Get lost, lady."

I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed as one of the staff members passed by me. "Get me another Cola."

"Um, Miss, I'm just a clean-" I hardened my stare at him. "Y-yes, coming right up!"

I rested my chin on my palm. "Tell me, waiter, have you ever been in a _real_ relationship?" Silence. "You haven't right? You've just been playing around with girls who use you, right? You've been innocently trying to win girls' hearts just so you can have someone under your arm." I crossed my arms over my chest. "It's no use. What makes a girl beautiful or special is not what her face or what her body looks like, but who she is. Don't go around telling girls the same things over and over; you're not an honest gentleman, you're a fake, lying, attention-wanting player."

His confidence was just a pool at his feet now. Maybe I hit him a little too hard with those words. I suddenly felt slightly regretful when I noticed the droop in his shoulders. His hair shadowed his face, hiding his expression away from me. I felt the nervousness creep up my shoulders and neck. I gulped. _Did I go a little too far? After all, we don't really know each other all that well; we are strangers. _

His words were so quiet I wasn't sure if I had imagined them or not. "What should I do?"

"What you should do. Be honest and truthful. Be yourself. Offer a date. Get to know her better. Compliments and the lovey-dovey stuff will actually _mean_ something after that." I tapped my chin. "Unless you're just after sex, then I guess I judged you wrong and you can just skip the whole date thing and get it on."

He turned to face me with his jaw dropped. "N-no! I'm not like-"

I chuckled. "Then what I said should be fine, yes?" He thought long and hard about it, biting his bottom lip. This whole situation sounded a tad stupid, now that I thought about it. A stranger giving another stranger advice on his life that she did not know about, only by judging from afar. I knew this kid was trouble, yet here I am, conversing with him and giving him advice.

"Miss, are you busy tomorrow?" Slowly, he put both cutlery and tea towel down on the counter and looked at me straight in the eye. I found no hints of playfulness or immaturity in his eyes.

"No, why do you ask?" I crossed my legs over each other and leaned in, smirking.

"I'd like to ask you to a date." I tried to contain the giggles that threatened to pour out. The blonde looked embarrassed, and broke eye contact. "O-oi! I'm trying hard here."

I cleared my throat and managed to keep a straight face. "Alright, alright, stay with me here." After I had his attention again, we role played through the night, laughing at our childishness and washing our worries away.

* * *

It was 2am already. I never planned on staying this late, but it happened anyway without me realising it. The bar was clean and empty. I stepped out into the cold, dark night with uncontrollable chattering teeth and jiggling legs. I couldn't stop myself from shaking even if I wanted to.

Sanji slid off his jacket and hung it around my shoulders. He offered to walk me home, saying it was far too late and dark for any young lady to be strolling off by herself. I rolled my eyes.

It took only a few minutes to reach the front of my home. I thanked him and returned his jacket.

"Remember, tomorrow at 3, by the fountain." He chuckled.

"Pft, come on, enough with the role playing."

"What role playing?" He winked. "Oh, and I never caught your name, Miss?" I laughed at myself. I couldn't believe what I had gotten myself into. I gave my name and asked for his. "Sanji." He smiled and turned on his heel. "See you tomorrow." He waved goodbye.

I walked up to my front door with a smile and stuck the key in the lock. Just as I was about to turn, it struck me like lightning when I realised what had just happened.

Did I just fall into the blonde's trap?

With the last breeze brushing against my skin, I couldn't tell if I had been hearing things or not.

"Mission: success."

* * *

A/N: I don't really know what I think of this, but it definitely did _not_ turn out the way I had planned. Ah wells. I really wanted to look at a different side to Sanji's flirting; he probably just likes pretty girls. Also, I'm a tad worried that I had made the 'reader's stubbornness/rudeness similar to Zoro's.

Oh noes. I'm falling into the ZoSan pit! No seriously. I can feel the fangirls pulling me in and offering cookies.

I do apologise if this is lacking. I am trying my best to improve my writing skills. /sobs

-_splash  
_


End file.
